You said what????
My belief is that we seem to be losing each other because we are avoiding conversation!! I think I heard what you said, and I think you know what I meant, but, did you???
If there is one thing that brings this fact to mind this week, it is Ferguson. I will not come down on one side or the other, but I will come down on the fact we need to be able to talk to each other. And the question is “Why can’t we?” I do believe it is because we don’t have the right tools to discuss the most important issues and ask the most important questions surrounding potentially contentious issues. Whether it is cutting the budget for the district, or hiring the new C&I Director or just plain, how do I sit across the table from my team and make sure we all understand who we are and where we are going? Those questions just begin the conversation. We need more conversation to support the journey we all have to make if we are to be the best we can be. That simple and, yet, that complex.
Let me offer these 3 critical thinking questions to help you on your journey with your team.
- What are your working on?
- What are the most important issues?
- Who will do what, by when?
If you ask those 3 questions you have broadened the capacity for everyone around you. And, you have reinforced, for you, what great leaders do – ask the right questions!!! Continue to ask those 3 questions of your team. It will change the conversation and the direction of where you are going.